More than 23 million low-income households across the United States will be without Internet as federal subsidies are coming to an end.
Biden established the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in 2021, which gave low-income families $30 a month toward their internet bill and $75 a month to both indigenous tribes and those living where internet access is limited. more expensive.
Many of these Americans have long relied on the program, which has allowed them to pay health care bills, including an Illinois mother, who spoke to reporters, whose daughter battles cerebral palsy.
The ACP launched with $14.2 billion on New Year’s Eve 2021, less than three years ago, and will run out of funding this month or sometime in May, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the House Biden’s White.
The Illinois mother enrolled in ACP said she really relies on the Internet subsidy for her health care, adding that she would sell “everything I have” to stay connected.
More than 23 million low-income households across the United States will be without Internet as federal subsidies are coming to an end. Above, a map breaking down which states will be most affected if Congress does not pass the bipartisan bill now sitting dormant on Capitol Hill.
The Biden White House’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), created by an act of Congress in 2021, will run out of funds this month or sometime in May. An ACP enrollee, Cindy Westman (right), who has been caring for her 12-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy and autism, said, “It’s essential for me to keep the Internet running.”
That ACP enrollee, Cindy Westman of Eureka, Illinois, has been living with her own genetic and immune system disorders while caring for her 12-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy and autism, as she explained to KFF Health News.
“When you’re low-income and living with a disability and your daughter is disabled,” Westman told the site, run by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, “every dollar counts.”
Westman said she uses the extra $30 to buy a week’s worth of gas to travel to her daughter’s doctor appointments 30 minutes away in Peoria, as well as for her own physical therapy appointments and other errands.
The Internet connection itself has also allowed him to easily access medical records online, Westman said, and switch to telehealth appointments when the schedule for that hour-long drive to Peoria doesn’t work.
“For me it is essential to maintain the Internet,” he told the site, “no matter what.”
Since January of this year, a bipartisan bill that would top up the program by $7 billion has languished for months without a floor vote.
The legislation, which has 216 cosponsors in the House, including 21 Republicans, and three in the Senate, was led by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.
Outside Selma, Alabama, an enrollee in the program, Leon Hudson, had previously struggled to persuade Internet service providers to install broadband in his community. Above, Dave Wallace, owner of Silica Broadband, digs a route to run fiber cables under Louisville, Kentucky, in 2021.
Before the show, Leon Hudson in Alabama said he had no choice but to try a $200-a-month satellite Internet service, HughesNet, which turned out to be slow, unreliable and expensive. Above US Census data on counties in the continental US without broadband
Program enrollee Cindy Westman of Eureka, Illinois, said the internet subsidy has allowed her to easily access medical records online and switch to telehealth appointments when her normal hour-long commute to appointments doesn’t work. Above, Dave Wallace of Silica Broadband
“There really aren’t any good options in a world where Congress leaves us unfunded,” said a senior Biden administration official. cnn.
“That’s why we want to work as hard as possible to make sure we avoid that possibility.”
This Tuesday, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to consider the social impact of letting the ACP go away.
“It is worth noting that they will have a special impact on certain vulnerable populations, including seniors,” Rosenworcel wrote. “We know that almost half of ACP households are headed by someone over 50 years old.”
In the rural outskirts of Selma, Alabama, for example, ACP member Leon Hudson, 50, had previously fought even to get a petition signed in large enough numbers to persuade Internet service providers to sign on. install broadband in your community.
On Tuesday, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urged Congress to consider the social impact of letting the ACP go away: “They will have a special impact on certain vulnerable populations, including seniors.” […] Almost half of ACP households are headed by a person over 50 years of age
Above, 2023 data on which US states have the fastest and slowest internet
Before the program, he had no choice but to try a $200-a-month satellite Internet service, HughesNet, which proved to be slow, unreliable and expensive, he said.
Hudson has come to rely on the ACP, which got him a mobile Internet deal with Xfinity that allowed him to get his online business off the ground.
With the probable end of the program, while explaining his situation to capital B news: “I have no choice but to solve it.”
Blair Levin, an analyst at market research firm New Street Research, told CNN that the $7 billion recovery, the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension ActIt would likely pass quickly if House Majority Leader Mike Johnson allowed Congress to vote on it.
“So far he hasn’t said anything about it,” Levin said, “but it looks like he won’t allow the House to vote on the legislation.”
“To my knowledge, he hasn’t said anything substantial about the legislation or the program.”
Households benefiting from the program are made up of approximately 59 million low-income American citizens and taxpayers, including veterans and students, as well as older Americans.
In addition to the monthly discount on Internet service, ACP offers a one-time $100 subsidy for eligible low-income households who need a laptop, desktop or tablet.
In 2021, the program was instituted to replace the emergency broadband benefit, which previously gave households a $50 discount, $20 more than eligible ACP applicants have received each month.
The emergency broadband benefit was also available to households with incomes at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines or those participating in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or Lifeline.